by Nurat Uthman
Lawmakers with the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement passed a law on Tuesday extending their term of office for one year.
The lawmakers were elected in 2020 to serve a five-year term expiring on March 10, 2025. But this week, President Paul Biya asked his government to pass a bill extending terms for all 180 members of Parliament by 12 months — well into 2026.
Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement — also known as CPDM — holds 156 of parliament’s 180 seats.
Government officials say Cameroon’s constitution gives Biya the power to consult the Constitutional Council and ask parliament to vote on extensions and postpone elections whenever circumstances warrant.
Joshua Osih, a lawmaker and president of the opposition Social Democratic Front, disagrees.
Osih said the Social Democratic Front Party he leads strongly condemns as undemocratic the law extending the mandate of parliamentarians, postponing parliamentary elections in Cameroon from February 2025 to February 2026. He said the Cameroon government had five years to prepare for fresh polls in 2025 and should not give the impression that it was taken by surprise.
Opposition and civil society groups say Biya ordered CPDM lawmakers to vote on the bill because it makes it difficult for some main opposition leaders, including Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party (CRM), to be a candidate in presidential elections expected in October 2025.
